


You are what you choose to be

by A_wandering_mind



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Graphic decriptions, Post good ending, Slow Burn, Thriller
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-10 06:18:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17420654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_wandering_mind/pseuds/A_wandering_mind
Summary: Two months have passed since the events of 11th november, the world is still trying to accept the androids as a new specie. Everything seems fine, until what it seemed to be a serie of unrelated deaths could be something else. Connor and Hank will have to work with the FBI to solve the case without further murders.





	You are what you choose to be

**Author's Note:**

> My first attempt at a DBH fanfic, I am known with another pseud here that I chose not to use. English is not my first language, so please be merciful with any grammar/language mistake :)

Hank had thought that after twenty years in the police he had seen everything, that no crime scene could give him that awful feeling of nausea by seeing a dead man for the first time. With Jane Elliot and Meredith McKenzie he first thought of a passionate crime, Elizabeth Burke's case seemed like a simple suicide but he never thought that Ella Alexander was the link between all four victims.

He had stood at the door of the Alexander's house, a small villa in Monte Vista Street, looking at the neighborhood, unusually quiet even if it was just 8pm. Someone hadn't noticed the lights of the police cars, but Hank suspected that many simply wanted to pretended they didn't seen them.

He had been there for five minutes, watching the comings and goings of the police trying to remove the curious and the journalists, demanding respect for the relatives and the victim . He didn't consciously know why he was waiting so long to get in, it was his job, and he owed it to the parents of that poor child.

He felt Connor put a hand on his shoulder. "Hank, are you okay?" The android had a genuinely worried expression.

Hank snorted, taking his hands off his jacket pockets, pausing for a moment to watch the clouds of condensation coming out of his mouth. "I am too old for this shit. Let's go." He patted Connor's hand before entering.

The house was like an ordinary house, Hank thought. A small private garden, a nice front porch and a very quiet neighborhood. After the first step in, he noticed a few toys scattered in the living room, just adjacent to the entrance, and a doll that seemed almost sitting on the first step of the stairs leading to the second floor. The Alexander's were not rich, not judging by the forniture he saw, they were probably doing regular jobs. He caught sight of two policemen in the kitchen who were questioning Ella's mother, visibly shaken and in tears, answering the questions of the two in monosyllable, clutching a penguin's puppet to her chest. 

Hank turned away from that heavy and sad sight and saw Connor kneeling in front of the entrance door. "Noticed something unusual, kid?"

The android waited a moment before answering, the led on his temple that was spinning blue. "The door has no sign of forcing, it has not been tampered." His glance then settled on the doll at the bottom of the stairs. "There are no signs of fight, anyone who has entered this house has not done it with the use of force. The victim probably knew her killer. "

"Ella" pointed Hank, dry, clenching his jaw. "His name was Ella."

Connor lowered his head. "She didn't try to defend herself, she didn't call for help, so it means that everyone that came in here it was someone who she trusted or someone she knew". He stood up from the floor, arranging and stretching his trousers with his hand. He looked at Hank right in the eyes with a grave expression on his face, and then he looked up the stairs, making a sign to the lieutenant to follow him.

Hank hesitated a few seconds before following the android and he was sure that Connor had noticed it, though he didn't say anything. He climbed up the stairs to the second floor, stamping his feet firmly on the ground, as if heavy weights were attached at his feet that made every step hard and painful. At the top of the stairs they found the coroner, waiting for them. The air was pervaded with a pungent smell, a mixture of blood and something familiar to Hank, but which he could not decipher.

The coroner waved to the two policemen to follow him. "The victim is Ella Alexander, 9 years. She lived with her mother, a yoga teacher who moved here after her husband died. The girl was alone at home, the mother left her to go grocery shopping and when she came back she found her like that." He stopped in front of the door of the child, shaking his head and sighing , letting the lieutenant and his partner examine the scene.

Connor came in first, and for the first time in his short life, he felt uneasy. He took a few steps in, and stopped at the end of the bed, to examine the victim. She was lying on her left side, in a fetal position with both hands under the pillow, the cause of death a single bullet hole on the temple, a 45-caliber pistol. The killer had carefully covered the victim's body with blankets, which he then covered in blue paint .

"Jesus Christ ..." Hank exclaimed, eyes wide open, while he was covering his mouth with one hand in disvelief. "Fuck, how sick you have to be to do something like that?" Inevitably, the look fell on the girl, who still had her eyes open, lifeless, staring into nothing. "Holy shit"

"You have not seen the worst yet," the coroner grabbed the handle and closed the bedroom door.

Hank froze.

The phrase  _Omnia mors aequat_  was written in large letters on the door, the murderer had used the same blue paint, probably mixed with the victim's blood, judging by the color, a disturbing dark violet. But that's not the sentence that had him startled, rather _how_  it was written. " What ..."

" _Death makes everyone equal_  " Connor anticipated him. " An old Latin proverb. Written in perfect Cyberlife Sans ".

*****

Hank and Connor had been discussing the crime the entire evening, which was rather unusual, considering that conversations outside of work hours did not often involve the work itself. Hank was troubled, there were elements in the crime scene that had given him a very bad feeling, beyond the age of the victim. Connor had contacted Markus almost immediately, without further explanation of the details of what had happened. He had asked to contact him immediately in case he noticed something suspicious in Jericho. That night Hank went to be rather late, and didn't sleep.

The next morning Connor had received a call from Captain Fowler, asking him and Hank to report to the precinct as soon as possible. It was not even eight o'clock in the morning and he and the man were already in the car, heading to work.

"Hank, are you alright?" The android asked suddenly. His scans had detected a slightly accelerated pulse and his hands were clutched to the steering wheel vehemently, clearly signs of discomfort.

"Of course it's all right" He answered sharply without even turning. "At least for a fucking morning I will not have to listeing to another patronizing lecture because I'm late at work."

Connor didn't answer and just looked at him, unconvinced and stern. "That's not what I meant".

Feeling the eyes of the android on him, Hank turned to the passenger seat, his eyebrows furrowed, in the best sarcastic expression he managed to mimic. He managed to hold Connor's gaze only for a few moments, before turning back and turning his attention to the road.

"Did you heard anything from Markus?" He asked simply .

Connor shook his head. "Not for now, Markus said nothing unusual happened in the last few days and he will try to investigate further ad soon as possible . If anyone in Jericho see or hear something suspicious, they'll let us know immediately."

"I don't like this story." Hank replied dryly, before parking at the DPD.

All at the district reception, though so early, had arrived several journalists, who surely had heard rumors about the new murder. The policemen and the androids on duty were doing their best to try to discourage people from coming, advising them to go home to avoid being blocked here due to the imminent snowstorm. Often the lieutenant was unpleasantly impressed by the speed with which the bad news were traveling in Detroit, and the voracity with the journalists were always looking for news, as condors waiting for a prey .

The interior of the precinct, in comparison, seemed almost an oasis of peace. After november, many people had decided to leave Detroit, and this had turned out, to the delight of Hank, in much less work for the police. Few people, less problems.

He was heading towards the break room, when Miller called him.

"Lieutenant, Captain Fowler wants you immediately in his office."

His voice seemed worried to Connor, without even needing a quick scan. He looked at Hank questioningly and settled his tie almost automatically before heading off to the captain's office. He caught a glimpse of Detective Reed, leaning against the door of the conference room. He had an unpleasant smile on his face, which Connor decided to ignore, since it seemed to be the best way to avoid the detective completely.

Hank patted him on the shoulder, took the three steps that separated him from the office and opened the glass door, stopping immediately as soon as he saw the captain busy, arguing with a woman.

"Sorry Jeffrey, we'll catch up later." He said hurriedly, gesturing with one hand in the direction of the stranger, with a half smile.

The woman turned towards hin. Her face had very harsh features, a square jaw that was barely hidden thanks to a short bob of brown hair, thin lips and sunken eyes, so dark that they were almost black. She looked at him inexpressive at first, then she bowed her head, politely.

"You must be Lieutenant Anderson." She gave him a very small smile, barely curving her lips. Then she stopped to look at the android, looking first at his led, before staring into his eyes. "And the famous Connor I suppose." She then stood up, holding out her hand. "Delighted to meet you."

She wore a mustard coat, a black sweater and trousers and honestly, Hank didn't expect her to be that tall. It was a few inches shorter than him, maybe she was the same height of Connor. He dropped his gaze on her shoes, expecting high heels. Actually, instead of heels, there were ridiculous frog-green brogues, very masculine. Connor, more aware of social interactions instead of looks, noticed how the woman had brought her hand exactly halfway between him and Hank, and as much as the gesture pleased him, signs that she considered them equally, surely it was not casual.

Hank shook her hand, followed by Connor, and he couldn't help but looking at Fowler with a questioning expression. "I don't know if I want to know what's going on."

The captain cleared his throat. "Yesterday we received a call, a very tough one from the office of the Secretary of the Defense. Since last november we are forced to sent a notification to the office when we have a case in which is involved, even potentially, an android. We have to work with the FBI in this case."

Connor and Hank exchanged a look. The lieutenant's mood was not good enough of his own, and the idea of blowing a case from the FBI for the umpteenth time was helping to make it even worse.

"What the fuck does that mean?" Hank snapped, shooting a grim look at Fowler. "I don't want to deal with this shit not today, let alone with this fucking case. Not again, for fuck's sake"

She seemed impassive to Hank's angry voice, and just put her hands in her coat pockets, smiling . " Considering the circumstances, I suspect that a more colorful language can make the idea better. I was assigned as a support in this case because the Bureau, after the deviants affair, has so much shit that thay can cover the entire Detroit with it"

Fowler tapped both hands on the table, before pointing his finger at Hank. "Will you be able to listen for once in your life, before pissing off? She has been sent here from the behavioral unit to support your case , not to take your case!"

Connor had remained silent during the exchange between the three of them, genuinely curious to know who she really was. Hank had told him more than once that it was rude to scan strangers, and that he should not do it unless the case required it. _It's private, for fuck sake_ , were his exact words. Yet he couldn't help but check her vital signs. All normal and the posture, erect and relaxed, showed that she hadn't any signs of stress unlike his partner. The difference between the two of them, he had to admit, was very amusing.

"Behavioral unit? They thought of a serial killer? " Connor asked.

"From a strictly academic point of view there are all the elements that would suggest it, yes. The main problem is: it's not intrinsecal that the murderer is a human. The FBI is not well viewed by the Detroit androids community, given the past  _disagreements_ , to use a nice metaphor. The behavioral unit will only support the investigation, and for now the only field agent is me. "

Hank only snorted, crossing his arms to the chest. He hated the federals, and the idea of working with them on such a delicate case made him furious.

"I'm sure we will have a good collaboration...agent?" Connor simply asked, with a half smile, trying to be as friendly as possible. His partner could have created a potentially tense situation , from which they could not benefit if they had to work together .

"O'Conner, Ava O'Conner. You can call me whatever you want, I have no preference. " She smiled, a more honest smile, Connor noticed.              

Hank instinctively rolled his eyes at hearing her last name, so fitting considering the situation.  _Perfect_  , he thought.  _Fucking perfect_  .

 


End file.
